Welcome to the Colorado Avalanche Prospect Update, November Edition! Each month, we will examine Avalanche prospects playing in various leagues and see how they perform. While some players have great potential, the Avalanche’s farm system is nowhere close to teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and Columbus Blue Jackets, which have had higher draft picks in the last few years. The Avalanche have traded away many of their prospects and draft picks.
One quick note: All players listed here are 25 or under.
Colorado Eagles, American Hockey League (AHL)
November was a better month for Oskar Olausson, who scored only one goal and one assist in October. While he didn’t produce any assists, he did show his willingness to shoot and scored three goals, one coming from the power play, which was the game-winner against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Nov. 5. It was good to see Olausson take more initiative driving the offense and creating chances. We haven’t seen that level of him during his time with the Eagles and here is hoping this season he can show what made him a valuable pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
At 22 years old, Jean-Luc Foudy is beginning his fifth professional season with the organization. Injuries have impacted his performance over the past two seasons, but he is on the verge of reaching a milestone of 200 AHL games played. He has just played his first game of the season after recovering from an injury during the offseason.
Trent Miner struggled in November but finished the month with a 4-3-1 record. He has moved to a record of 5-4-2 after losing his first two games in December. He gave up nine goals in total in those two games, taking his save percentage to .895 and goals-against average to 2.69. He’s shown his ability to take over games from last season; it’s just been a rough start to the season for Miner.
After a solid start to the season, Nikita Prishchepov was called up to the Avalanche and played games with them. He didn’t record any points, but in a bottom-six role, he showed what he can bring to the lineup if called up. He is a high-energy player with a strong work ethic who plays physically and enjoys battling in front of the net. Now, back with the Eagles, he scored one goal and one assist in November, including one on the power play and continues to learn and show why he could be an average name in the Avalanche lineup if an injury were to occur and they need to call someone up.
National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA)
Taylor Makar cooled off from his hot start in October, when he scored four goals and seven points in five games, only producing four assists in the month. While his high-goal-scoring game was down, his shooting didn’t let go. He finished the month with 21 shots on goal and was unlucky in finding the back of the net. Despite a relativity cool month production-wise, he is still third on the team in points and has helped them win as they are fifth in the NCAA according to rankings by USCHO.com.
Similarly, the same thing happened with Jake Fisher as Makar, as his hot production from October has cooled off a bit. He scored just one goal and one assist in November, all coming from the first game they played against Yale. When Fisher isn’t delivering wrist shots to the back of the net, he overpowers opponents in battles, steals pucks in the defensive zone, and wins puck retrievals. He continues playing a physical game, which can help compensate for the lack of production.
Tory Pitner recorded his first point of the season in November against North Dakota, which is also his only point of the season so far. We have yet to see the same production level from him during his time in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Youngstown Phantoms. Still, Pitner’s attention to defensive details is evident in every game. His sound positioning, perfectly timed pokes, overwhelming physicality, and clever tie-ups make him a formidable defender.
Similar to Pitner, Christian Humphreys just recorded his first point of the season off an assist against Penn State on Nov. 23. For a player we have seen light it up in the USHL and the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP), not scoring yet this season is a rough start. His shooting ability is there. He accumulates touches by positioning himself effectively in the offensive zone and executing well-timed reloading routes during transitions. It’s just a matter of time until one goes in, and he feeds off that to stay hot.
Canadian Hockey League
Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League (WHL)
The Calum Ritchie tour continues as he stayed red hot coming out of October. His five assists in two games were just a warm-up for what he could produce in November. He finished with seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points in the month. He has continued showing off the best parts of his game, his playmaking. His hockey sense is his defining quality and sets him apart. In the offensive zone, this skill involves supporting the puck carrier, making connections between plays, anticipating gaps in coverage, positioning himself effectively when not in possession of the puck, and controlling his skating to arrive at the right place at the right time. With an invitation to Team Canada’s 2025 World Junior Championship camp, look for even greater things from Ritchie as the season continues.
Related: Team Canada Leaves Notable Names Off 2025 WJC Camp Roster
Like Ritchie, Maximilian Curran continues his hot start to the season. After coming off three goals and eight assists for 11 points in October, he has kicked his play up a notch. In November, he scored four goals (three of them came from a three-game goal streak) and nine assists for 13 points. He continues to stay aggressive on the puck, shooting whenever he sees an opportunity to create a rebound chance or try and score himself, totalling 39 shots alone in the month. Currently fifth in points and fourth in assists on the team, he has helped the Americans battle in a tough Western Conference, going 6-3-1-0 in their last ten games.
Russian Leagues
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), VHL
Zakhar Bardakov started the season hot with SKA St. Petersburg, scoring eight goals and seven assists in 22 games. However, he went down with an injury early in November and has yet to play a game since. It is an undisclosed injury, and no other news has been stated yet, so it’s only a matter of time until something is announced or we will see him return when he is healthy.
Mikhail Gulyayev had a rough start to the season with Avangard Omsk but improved offensively last month. Finishing with three points that all came from assists, it showed the offensive side of Gulyayev’s game. While his defensive side has shown throughout his time in the KHL, seeing flashes of his playmaking abilities is a great sign, even if Avanagard continues to struggle, as they are eighth in the East Division, just one point keeping them in a playoff spot.
Ilya Nabokov saw a busy November, starting eight games but winning only three. An 11-11-3 record doesn’t seem like the best, but he pairs that with an impressive .925 SV% and a 2.24 GAA. Like Gulyayev, his team, Metallurg Mg, is struggling a bit this season. Fourth in the East Division with a 19-17-0 record, he hasn’t gotten a lot of help, but his resilience in the net shows his worth to the franchise in the future.
Other American Leagues
United States Hockey League (USHL), ECHL
Willam Zellers continued his hot goal-scoring season into November. After finishing with four goals and one assist in October, he finished with 11 goals (four coming from the power play and three game-winning goals) and five assists for 17 points last month. Now, with 15 goals and six assists for 21 points on the season, he is third in the league in goals as he helps a struggling Green Bay Gamblers team that has gone 5-5-0 in their last ten games played.
Goaltender Louka Cloutier has struggled this past month with the Chicago Steel. After finishing October with a decent 3-3-0 record but a disappointing .882 SV% and a 4.08 GAA, his performance has not improved in November. He finished the month with a record of 1-5-0 and is currently on a five-game losing streak. With a record of 4-8-0, a .872 SV%, and a 4.58 GAA, the Steel have gone 1-8-1 in their last ten and have been outscored 110-67 on the season.
November has either gone well for some rookies like Ritchie and Zellers or poor like Cloutier and Pitner. Still, early into the 2024-25 season, they have plenty of time to turn it around and help their teams succeed.
